Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tease
Tease
(tēz)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Teased
(tēzd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Teasing
.] [AS.
t[GREEK]san
to pluck, tease; akin to OD. teesen
, MHG. zeisen
, Dan. tæse
, tæsse
. √58. Cf. Touse
.] 1.
To comb or card, as wool or flax.
“Teasing matted wool.” Wordsworth.
2.
To stratch, as cloth, for the purpose of raising a nap; teasel.
3.
(Anat.)
To tear or separate into minute shreds, as with needles or similar instruments.
4.
To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb, or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery; to plague.
Cowper.
He . . . suffered them to
tease
him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations. Macaulay.
Syn. – To vex; harass: annoy; disturb; irritate; plague; torment; mortify; tantalize; chagrin.
–
Tease
, Vex
. To tease is literally to pull or scratch, and implies a prolonged annoyance in respect to little things, which is often more irritating, and harder to bear, than severe pain. Vex meant originally to seize and bear away hither and thither, and hence, to disturb; as, to
. This sense of the term now rarely occurs; but vex is still a stronger word than tease, denoting the disturbance or anger created by minor provocations, losses, disappointments, etc. We are teased by the buzzing of a fly in our eyes; we are vexed by the carelessness or stupidity of our servants. vex
the ocean with stormsNot by the force of carnal reason,
But indefatigable
But indefatigable
teasing
. Hudibras.
In disappointments, where the affections have been strongly placed, and the expectations sanguine, particularly where the agency of others is concerned, sorrow may degenerate into
vexation
and chagrin. Cogan.
Tease tenon
(Joinery)
, a long tenon at the top of a post to receive two beams crossing each other one above the other.
Tease
,Noun.
One who teases or plagues.
[Colloq.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Tease
TEASE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To comb or card, as wool or flax.2.
To scratch, as cloth in dressing, for the purpose of raising a nap.3.
To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery. Parents are often teased by their children into unreasonable compliances. My friends tease me about him, because he has no estate.